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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23352658">Not What Was Expected</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemsterious/pseuds/littlemsterious'>littlemsterious</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Albus Dumbledore Bashing, Bisexual Harry Potter, Harry Potter Has a Twin, Harry Potter Never Went to Hogwarts, Harry Potter is a Little Shit, Harry Potter was Adopted by Other(s), Harry Potter was Raised by Other(s), I should be doing my homework, Indian Harry Potter, James Potter &amp; Lily Evans Potter Live, M/M, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Morally Grey Harry Potter, Multi, Nonbinary Harry Potter, Transphobia, Wrong Boy-Who-Lived (Harry Potter), it's minor though, probably</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:01:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,372</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23352658</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemsterious/pseuds/littlemsterious</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Potter was dead. The Potters knew that. Everyone did.<br/>He died at the hands of Voldemort that fateful halloween.<br/>Except that's not quite true.<br/>And when the Potters learn the truth, everything changes.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>So. I've never been big on writing and don't know how much of this I'll be able to do. I have a lot of ideas but have trouble in the execution. If anyone would be interested in helping, please comment. Thank you.</p><p>Hiatus or Abandoned. Not sure, see chapter 3 for details.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>pending</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>195</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue and Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Prologue<br/>
Harry Potter was dead. The Potters knew that. Everyone did. They mourned like any family would, but couldn’t wallow in it. They had another son. Harry’s twin, Charlie, was still alive. They had to focus on him. Make sure he was ok. They didn’t have time to grieve. after all, the boy-who-lived needs a lot of attention to make sure he’s raised right.<br/>
Dumbledore chuckled. He placed the bundle on the door step. Harry potter couldn’t stick around. He was dark, and would have to die. A horcrux was not a simple thing. Here he would be raised and when Dumbledore needed him to die, he would be a malleable puppet. A perfect martyr. Willing to do anything to be loved. </p><p>Vernon Dursley took one look at the baby on his doorstep and called the police. He explained that the baby had been there when he went to fetch the paper, that they couldn’t care for it, that they had their own to worry about.<br/>
the baby was taken into the system and within a month was adopted by a Mr. and Mrs. Williams, who couldn’t have kids of their own. Harry was their second, and by no means their last. they loved every kid they took in and when harry’s accidental magic started acting up, they did what they could to help him control it.<br/>
at eleven years old, he got no letter, intercepted by Dumbledore, thinking Harry was still at the Dursley’s.<br/>
at fourteen Harry became Hari, and he became they.<br/>
at fifteen their life changed forever.</p><p>chapter One<br/>
it was meant to be a quiet, simple trip to Diagon alley. nothing more. buy the school books for that year, get new robes, all starting off with a trip to Gringotts to pick up some money. but while they were there, they hit a bump. Charlie was supposed to receive the heirship ring for the potter house. a ring that, traditionally, goes to the oldest child in the family. when the ring didn’t accept him though, they had to start asking questions. the only kid they had that was older than Charlie, was dead. right?<br/>
a quick inheritance test on Charlie shined an eerie light. </p><p>Twin Bond: Harry James Potter [Hari Jem Williams] (active)</p><p>James shook his head, confused. “That can’t be right. A twin bond dies when the twin does.” </p><p>“yes. am i right to assume you’re under the impression your son is dead?” the goblin said drily.</p><p>“under the impress— WE BURIED HIM! WHAT DO YOU MEAN UNDER THE IMPRESSION?”</p><p>“James, honey, don’t raise your voice.” Lily grabbed his hand.</p><p>“right, yes, I’m sorry. what exactly does this mean, if the twin bond is active?”</p><p>“It means that whoever or whatever you buried was not your son. Did you see the body?”</p><p>“I don’t remember, it was a hard day, a hard couple years really. I-“</p><p>“No.” Lily cut in. “Dumbledore said the body was to mangled to see. That it would only make everything worse.”</p><p>“Yeah. yeah that’s right.”</p><p>“So, Harry’s alive?” Charlie spoke up, looking hopeful.</p><p>“It looks like it.” James paused. “We need to talk to Dumbledore.” He turned to the goblin. “Thank you for your time. if that’s all...”</p><p>“yes that is all.” the goblin said, picking up the testing materials. “would you like the test results?”</p><p>“yes thank you. it was a pleasure.” James said taking the parchment. the goblin just hummed. </p><p>the potter family left the bank with new fervor and a lot of questions for the headmaster.</p><p>•••</p><p>the headmaster was having a good day when the doors to his office flew open. In walked Severus, Lily and James, followed by young Charlie.</p><p>“Oh hello. i wasn’t expecting visitors. it’s always welcome though.”</p><p>“Albus,” James said, and Dumbledore’s smile twitched. “I need you to explain this to me.” He slammed a parchment on the desk and pointed to a few words.</p><p>Twin Bond: Harry James Potter [Hari Jem Williams] (active)</p><p>“My boy, I don’t understand what you ask of me. Charlie had a twin. that’s what a twin bond means. surely the goblins could’ve explained you that.”</p><p>“Yeah, I know what a twin bond is. it says it’s active. Which means my son is alive.”</p><p>“Well it could’ve been a mistake. personally, I don’t trust goblins.”</p><p>“stop playing games old man. what happened. to Harry.”</p><p>“James, my boy, you have to understand—“</p><p>“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” James began pacing. “Ha. You’re kidding.”</p><p>“My boy, he was dark.”</p><p>“He was a baby.” Lily spoke up. “There’s no way to know that.”</p><p>“My Dear, trust me. It’s better this way.”</p><p>James turned to glare at the old man. “But we can’t trust you now Albus. You lied. For years you’ve lied.” He walks back up to the desk. </p><p>“Now where is my son.”</p><p>•••<br/>
“The Dursleys, James. He left our baby boy with the Dursleys.”</p><p>“I know Lily. I know. But we’re going to go get him. We’ll fix this.”</p><p>They stopped walking when they reached the mailbox with the number four on it. </p><p>“Ready?” He asked?</p><p>“No. Not at all” Lily said before walking up the drive.</p><p>The door opened to a Petunia Dursley that neither of them really recognized.</p><p>She looked at them and sputtered. “You?”</p><p>“HI Tuney.”</p><p>“You’re dead.”</p><p>“I’m- No. There’s been an issue. I’m sorry. We were told you had our son.”</p><p>“No. I-“ She sighed.</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“We couldn’t take care of him. We’d just had our own and we just couldn’t afford another. Last I heard he got adopted.”</p><p>“Oh my god.” Lily looked despondent.<br/>
“Is there any other information you could give us?”</p><p>“No. Now get out, I don’t want the neighbors seeing you.”</p><p>“Bye tuney.” Lily and James turned to go.</p><p>“Yes, yes goodbye.” Petunia looked around before slamming the door.</p><p>   •••<br/>
Mariah Williams was a simple woman. She took care of her family, working as a nurse at an urgent care not ten minutes from home, and married to an accountant. Both of them knew they wanted kids and when they couldn’t have their own, they didn’t lose hope. they knew there were plenty of kids who could be adopted and were happy to do so. the first was Sam when he was eight. then Harry when he was two. followed by Margaret when she was five. then Antoine when he was fourteen.</p><p>She knew it would be harder, taking kids out of the system, kids who’d been through more than ordinary kids. But she was willing to put in the effort and while it had been hard, it was worth it. She loved her family with all her heart and wouldn’t trade them for the world.</p><p>So when someone came to the door claiming they knew her kid’s parents, she didn’t know what to do. Especially considering she’d been told they were dead. </p><p>“I’m sorry, how would you even know that.”</p><p>“It’s a long story,” the man who introduced himself as Remus Lupin said, “But we were able to find a record that said so.”</p><p>“We?”</p><p>“His parents, and I.”</p><p>“And where are they now?”</p><p>“They stayed home. I was worried they’d do something rash if they came. I know he’s happy and settled and might not want to meet them. Not to mention, they’d might try to take him home without thinking to much. We’d been told he was dead.”</p><p>“Uh-huh. And, uh, what are his parents named?”</p><p>“James and Lily Potter.” She nodded.</p><p>“And why did they- you said they thought he was dead? Why would they think that? How did they realize he wasn’t?”</p><p>“Thats where things get complicated.” He glanced around nervously. “I can’t explain here.”</p><p>“That’s reassuring.” </p><p>“I know, I know. I sound sketchy, and if I were you I’d close and lock the door. But if you give me ten minutes of your time, I think I can convince you.”</p><p>she sighed and opened the door to let him in. “Would you like a cup of tea?”</p><p>“If it’s not too much trouble.”</p><p>“Wouldn’t ask if it was.” She muttered before closing the door.</p><p>Mariah Williams listened as Remus Lupin told her everything. Or, at least it seemed like everything. He explained magic, the statute of secrecy, Gringotts, the lordships, the heirships, Dumbledore. It was clearly unrehearsed, as with everything he added he realized there was more background information he missed. They’d been sitting in the living room for an hour. Their tea hardly touched and growing cold. </p><p>She’d been convinced for some time now, but was curious about this whole other world her kid apparently had been kept out of. As soon as he mentioned magic, she knew. Hari had always been able to do things she couldn’t explain. Her and her husband had found anything they could to explain and help. It made sense now why there was so little information knowing that the “wizarding world”, as Mr. Lupin called it, kept everything under wraps.</p><p>In the end they’d taught them regulation, through breathing and meditation, and they slowly gained control of their gift.</p><p>Mr. Lupin paused his rambling. “Is any of this making sense? Merlin, I probably sound like a mad man.”</p><p>“No I understand. Besides, Hari's always been different. It’s not as strange as it may seem.”</p><p>Lupin sighed. Suddenly the front door opened. In walked her husband and two oldest. Including Hari.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He looked exactly like he was supposed to and nothing like he was supposed to. That is to say, living a different life leads to a very different person. When his best friend's son stepped through the door, Remus was expecting him to look like Charlie. And in all fairness, he did, but he’s also made his look his own. <br/>Where Charlie had short hair, Harry's was longer, long enough to be pulled back. Where Charlie dressed in plain, casual clothes, Harry seems to be dressed up and wearing much more feminine clothes. Where Charlie was loud and stubborn, Harry carried himself with a quiet confidence. <br/>Remus Lupin had no Idea what to make of it. This was clearly James and Lily’s son, but he was also these other people’s son as well. If not, even more so. <br/>James and Lily wouldn’t like that.</p><p>   •••</p><p>Hari Williams was expecting a normal day. That is until they came home to their mm sitting in the living room, with a man who seemed to just stare at them. The man seemed to be hungrily taking in his every detail but simultaneously had a glint of recognition in his eyes. </p><p>“Mr. Lupin,” their mom said to the man after a moment. “Could you step outside while I talk to my family please?”</p><p>‘Mr. Lupin’ started, and looked back to her. “Oh yes, of course,” he said, stumbling over his words before stumbling out the door.</p><p>“Hari, HN, could you sit with me please?  Sam you can go on, I need to talk to Harry and your father.” Their mother said. </p><p>Sam left the room as Hari and their dad sat down in front of their mom. </p><p>She sighed. “That man was named Remus Lupin.” She paused, considering how to say her next words, “And he knows your birth parents.”</p><p> Hari snapped to attention. “I thought they were dead.”</p><p>“That’s what we were told.” Maria began explaining what she’d learned over the past hour. </p><p>After she was done, about ten minutes had passed and Hari was silent. </p><p>“So where do we go from here?” Their father said.</p><p>“That’s up to Hari.” Their mom turned to look at them. ‘Hari you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”</p><p>“I know. But… I want to meet them.”</p><p>“Ok. HN, would you let Mr. Lupin back in please.”</p><p>“Sure dear” he got up and walked to the front door. </p><p>Hari saw the man coming back into the living room and stood up. They walked over and offered their hand. </p><p>“Hari Williams, It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Lupin.”</p><p>Mr. Lupin stared at their hand for a moment, then shook himself before shaking it.</p><p>“Just Remus please, and it’s good to see you again too, Harry.”</p><p>Hari’s mom, who was standing next to him now, spoke to Remus. </p><p>“Hari has decided they would like to meet their birth parents. Is there anyway we can contact you so we can schedule a time and place?”</p><p>“Oh, yeah. Um– hold on, let me just,” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. He wrote down a phone number. “It’s not just mine, since we don’t really use phones a lot but I’m the most likely to pick up.” </p><p>He handed the slip of paper over to Hari’s mom and smiled. </p><p>“I’m so sorry to cut this short, but we do have other things going on,” Hari’s dad said after a moment.</p><p>“Oh, yes. Of course. Sorry for imposing.” Remus said putting the pen and pad back in his pocket.</p><p>“No, you’re good, thank you for coming by, I hope we get to see you again soon.” Their mom responded. </p><p>They said their goodbye’s and Remus Lupin was out the door. </p><p>   •••</p><p>A few days past, a meeting was scheduled and suddenly it was the day of.  Hari was nervous. They didn’t know what to expect. And a twin brother? They’d always had siblings but something about a twin they never knew was daunting. So was their identity. Even when Hari hadn’t known who or what they were, they were pretty confident in themself, due to the support from their family and friends. They were familiar with judgmental people and usually could let judgements from assholes roll off them. But these people weren’t just anybody. They weren’t strangers who they passed on the street. These were their own flesh and blood. He knew better than to believe that’s all that made a family, their own being a prime example. But they were still scared and nervous.</p><p>But they couldn’t let that get to them now. Hari was going to meet their birth parents, and they were going to be themself. They dressed up, and put on makeup, and drank an extra cup of coffee to help them keep going. </p><p>“I can do this.”</p><p>The Williams family took the tube to the station closest to the restaurant where they were supposed to meet, and walked the rest of the way. </p><p>The Leaky Cauldron wasn’t the kind of place they’d normally go, but it wasn’t the worst they’d visited. When they walked in they didn’t see Remus Lupin, so they sat down at a table by the door. </p><p>Hari thinks their parents were talking with their siblings, but they had tuned out. After some time, Hari’s dad got their attention and they realised Remus was standing at their table.</p><p>“–e’ve got a private room in the back, so we can talk without interruption.”</p><p>Hari stood with their family and followed him to the back, nodding at the man behind the counter. When they entered the room, Hari staggered. They knew they had a twin brother but the boy staring back at them looked so familiar it was weird. Their mom wrapped an arm around their shoulders to pull them to the table and take a seat. </p><p>The man next the the boy, James, and the boy’s name was Charlie, had a similar familiarity. The woman, LIly, looked less similar but she had their eyes. Hari had always loved their bright green eyes but never knew where they came from. They could see it now. Her eyes seemed to glow.</p><p>After a minute of staring, Charlie broke the silence. “Hi. I’m Charlie, your twin brother. It’s nice to finally meet you, especially considering I thought you were dead..” He put his hand out across the table.</p><p>Hari smiled and took his hand. “Hari. It’s nice to meet you too. Especially considering I didn’t know you existed until last week.” Charlie smiled back. </p><p>Remus, who had left the room a moment before, returned with some menus for the group. After everyone had ordered and introduced themself, they started talking. Charlie talked about quidditch and defense classes, while Hari talked about their love for design and music. Charlie told Hari how he was the Gryffindor chaser, like James had been. And, after that, explained to Hari the hogwarts houses and quidditch positions. It was confusing and they didn’t totally understand but they listened with rapt attention anyway. At some point their food arrived, hari wasn’t really sure when. </p><p>They continued talking over their lunch about magic and quidditch and hogwarts. Or at least what Charlie enjoyed about those things. They really weren’t the kind of things Hari appreciated but he listened nonetheless. At some point, after answering a question about his broomstick Charlie asked Hari a dangerous question.</p><p>“Why is your voice so high?” </p><p>This seemed to attract the attention of James and Lily from their discussion with Hari’s parents. Hari felt nervous but forced themself to answer as confidently as they could.</p><p>“A few years ago, when I was still struggling to figure out who I am, I thought I was a girl. So I took estrogen for a while and it affected my voice.”</p><p>A few seconds passed before Charlie continued. </p><p>“Doesn’t it bother you that your voice sounds kinda girly”</p><p>“No. I may not be a girl, but I’m not a boy either. I feel more comfortable in between, per se.” Hari’s hands were a little sweaty but they pressed on.</p><p>“What does that even mean?” Charlie said.</p><p>“It just means that I’m not a boy or a girl. I’m non binary, which is the in the middle. I go by them instead of him and I spell my name differently than the traditional way. It’s just who I am.” </p><p>“Huh. cool i guess.” Charlie said before  moving on back to quidditch. </p><p>Hari took a deep breath but figured that it wasn’t over. James and Lily hadn’t said anything and he was still scared about how they’d respond.</p><p>They were almost done with their food when Lily turned to Hari.</p><p>“So, Harry, have you thought at all about attending Hogwarts to learn magic.”</p><p>“I have but I’m not sure about it. I have my life and my plan here and I’m not sure how i feel about changing everything yet.”</p><p>“What no, you have to go to hogwarts! It’s the best! And you learn to do magic and play quidditch and stuff!”</p><p>Lily put a hand on her son’s arm. “It’s his– their life, Charlie. Harry gets to make the choice.” it sounded forced, like she agreed with her son, but Hari appreciated the sentiment anyway. She turned back to Hari.</p><p>“If you decide to, Hogwarts is a great school. But it is up to you. And your parents, of course.” </p><p>The conversation lulled from there and they decided to call it a day. Each family paid their bill and they planned another meetup before they departed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm trying. While I have some experience in the areas Hari's dealing with, they're not the same. so if you think i botched it, yell at me in the comments. <br/>also my computer hated me writing the name 'hari' so if it says hair or hard or bari anywhere, yell at me in the comments.</p><p>I want Hari to be a music person and there won't be too many specific references but i wanted to know if people would rather make him a theatre musicals nerd (it would probably be more obscure stuff like the great comet or six) or a rock music nerd. or something else entirely. <br/>i also don't know who i'm going to put hari or charlie in a relationship with yet. that wont be for a while and it might not happen at all but if anyone has any suggestions i'm all ears. </p><p>it might be a while before I'm able to post again. with everything going on, between covid and high school and mental health, it'll probably be june before i post again. I'm hoping to have a better update schedule than every couple months, but i need to get through the school year first.</p><p>I hope you enjoyed and Have a nice day!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Apologies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Did i say i would be back in June? Yeah. guess who is a l i a r.</p><p>Uh, i have no real reason for not updating. I’ve had nothing to do all summer and now i’m starting college so….</p><p>I guess lack of motivation but there wasn’t a lot to start with.</p><p> </p><p>I’m going to be real with y’all. I really want to finish this. I really do. but it might not happen.</p><p>I really have no idea where to take the story and in all honesty, i hate chapter 2. It felt rushed to me. I didn’t like it while writing it and i don’t like it reading it now. and again, i started writing with a general idea, and no end goal. </p><p>I might finish this one day. (god i sound like george de’valier, crushing my dreams) </p><p>I might add some stuff here and there. I might make it into a series of one shots so i don't have to write chronologically.</p><p>If you have ideas, i'd love to hear them.</p><p>But for now i’m writing prompts and <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26332207/chapters/64124068">including this story as one</a>. I’m going to leave this up, in case i do come back to it, but there’s no guarantee.</p><p>I’m real sorry.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So. I've never been big on writing and don't know how much of this I'll be able to do. I have a lot of ideas but have trouble in the execution. If anyone would be interested in helping, please comment.  Thank you.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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